Since ancient times, gold has served a very unique function in society. Gold is extremely rare, impossible to create out of “thin air,” easily identifiable, malleable and does not tarnish. By nature of these properties, gold has been highly valued throughout history for every tiny ounce of weight. That’s why it’s been used by people for centuries as a monetary metal, a symbol of wealth and a store of value.

Visualizing gold’s value and rarity

With all that value coming from such a small package, sometimes it is hard to put gold’s immense worth into context. These 11 images help put things in better perspective.

1. The U.S. median income, as a gold cube, easily fits in the palm of your hand

2. A gold cube worth $1 million has sides that are two-thirds the length of a typical banknote

3. All the gold used for electrical connections in Space Shuttle Columbia would be worth $1.6 million today

4. Trump’s entire fortune of $3.7 billion, as a gold cube, would be shorter than Trump himself

5. As a gold cube, the entire value of the bitcoin market would fit in a hallway

6. The fortune of the richest man on earth, Bill Gates, would take up a single traffic lane

7. The world’s entire annual production of gold is just a 5.5-metre-sided cube

8. Take the 147.3 million ounces of gold out of Fort Knox, and it’s only slightly bigger

9. All gold held by the central banks pales in comparison to the Brandenburg Gate

10. All gold mined in human history is dwarfed by the Statue of Liberty

11. To pay off $63 trillion of global sovereign debt, you’d need a gold cube the size of a building